Ruedi Reservoir

Exceptionally Beautiful Location For Recreation Activities

Located approximately 14 miles east of Basalt, Colorado, in the White River National Forest, Ruedi Marina Campground is situated on Ruedi Reservoir at an elevation of 7,800 feet. Sites at this campground open up to views of the reservoir and starry nighttime skies. A mixed conifer forest hems in the shoreline and nearby peaks offer an ideal setting for guests seeking recreation and relaxation.

Ruedi Dam is a rock and earth-fill structure that stands about 285 feet high above the streambed and has a crest length of 1,042 feet. The Reservoir is on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, where snow-capped mountain peaks reach over 13,000 feet and the thickly forested slopes provide an exceptionally beautiful background for recreation activities.

History of Ruedi Reservoir

Some may not realize that at the bottom of what are now the deep waters of Ruedi Reservoir, there was once the town of Ruedi. The small community was surrounded by family farms and ranches, which added to its idyllic beauty. Yes, where there is now that immense, government-mandated reservoir and the appropriation of water to the Front Range, there was once a verdant valley of pastoral homesteads where early settlers chose to build a life.

John Ruedi was a Swiss immigrant who settled on the Fryingpan River in 1880. Little did he know that, several years later, the Colorado Midland Railroad would be running through his front yard. By 1888, the new line ran the entire length of the Fryingpan Valley, from the silver-boom town of Leadville down to Basalt, and beyond. John Ruedi established a post office, and he became the postmaster. A school was started, and this small hamlet grew even busier when it became a whistle-stop on the rail line.
Source: The Aspen Times (www.aspentimes.com)